Insider Selling: Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) Insider Sells $15,411.60 in Stock

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESPR) insider Benjamin Looker sold 5,708 shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.70, for a total transaction of $15,411.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 679,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,834,239.60. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Benjamin Looker also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Benjamin Looker sold 1,689 shares of Esperion Therapeutics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.88, for a total transaction of $4,864.32.

Esperion Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ESPR traded down $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.51. 5,355,296 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,000,278. The firm has a market capitalization of $644.59 million, a PE ratio of -14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.16. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $0.69 and a 12-month high of $4.18.

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $168.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.12 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ESPR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Esperion Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on shares of Esperion Therapeutics from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Esperion Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $9.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. raised its position in shares of Esperion Therapeutics by 209.2% in the 3rd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 9,430 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 6,380 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in Esperion Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Esperion Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Esperion Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 47.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Esperion Therapeutics

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of oral, low–density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)–lowering therapies. The company’s research and development efforts center on small-molecule compounds designed to address atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by targeting cholesterol biosynthesis pathways. Esperion seeks to provide novel treatment options for patients who require additional LDL-C reduction beyond what is achieved with statins or who are statin-intolerant.

The company’s lead products include NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid), an oral adenosine triphosphate–citrate lyase (ACL) inhibitor approved by the U.S.